Our Aerial Team.
Taught by our experienced instructors, our sessions focus on building strength, flexibility, and confidence. Participants will learn fundamental aerial techniques and choreography, all while cultivating a love for movement and self-expression.
At Earth & Elevate, we believe a strong teaching philosophy is key to creating a positive and supportive learning environment. Comfort and confidence in the air are essential for a safe aerial practice. We recognize that each student follows a unique timeline in developing trust—in themselves, the apparatus, and their instructor.
Our instructors are committed to honoring each student's individual journey. We provide encouraging, respectful instruction without pushing students beyond their comfort zones. Apprehension or hesitation is a natural part of the process, and we’re here to support growth at your own pace.
If you notice us moving on to another student before a skill is attempted or mastered, it’s not a lack of attention—it’s a reflection of our respect for that student's boundaries and readiness.
Our goal is to create a safe, welcoming space for everyone to explore, grow, and thrive in their aerial practice. Thank you for trusting us with your journey!
Jessie
Founder & Head Aerial Coach
Jessie is an aerialist, movement educator, and yoga teacher with over 15 years of experience guiding students through creative, anatomy-informed practices. Specializing in Aerial Sling, she brings a deep understanding of biomechanics, playful exploration, and a passion for the air to every class.
A lifelong mover and performer, Jessie grew up in a dance studio as the daughter of two professional dancers and spent her early years immersed in competitive Ballet, Tap, and Jazz. She began her professional journey in 2006 as a personal trainer and expanded into yoga, earning multiple certifications and focusing on the therapeutic power of movement. Her studies in anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology continue to shape her teaching.
Jessie discovered aerial arts in 2009 and was instantly hooked. She has trained in Silks, Trapeze, Lyra, Pole, and Flying Trapeze, but Aerial Sling remains her favorite apparatus for its versatility and expression. In 2015, she founded her first studio, Simply Yoga Vancouver, and in 2018, launched a comprehensive aerial yoga program and teacher training that continues to grow today.
Now the founder and director of Earth & Elevate Aerial Arts, Jessie is devoted to creating safe, empowering spaces for students of all levels to build strength, confidence, and artistry in the air. She believes great teachers are always learning—and her classes reflect a blend of curiosity, precision, and joy.
Aphyna
Head Dance & Aerial Coach
Aphyna fell in love with the enchanting world of movement at the age of 12. Discovering dance as a means of self-expression transformed her life, providing an outlet for her once-shy spirit to flourish. She trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and improvisation, eventually joining the Oregon State University Elite Dance Team, where she served as captain for two years.
After college, her passion for movement and travel carried her across the globe, studying with renowned artists and exploring a wide range of dance forms. In 2017, she added aerial arts to her repertoire, training with FlyCo, a professional circus arts program, and later performing in numerous shows as a company member with AWOL Dance Collective.
With over 15 years of teaching experience, Aphyna shares her diverse knowledge of movement with clarity, creativity, and a deep respect for each student’s unique path.
Aphyna’s journey as an aerial and dance teacher is fueled by her belief in the transformative power of movement. With a heart full of passion she endeavors to inspire and empower her students to explore their creativity and meet their aerial goals. Embracing grace and strength in equal measure, Aphyna invites her students to soar to new heights, nurturing their artistic souls to take flight. When Aphyna is not in the air she loves to spend time with her spirited daughter and facilitate sound bath meditations for the community.
Sami
Aerial Coach
Sami is an elementary school teacher by day and an avid aerial enthusiast by night. She embarked on her aerial journey in 2020 and quickly developed a deep passion for this unique form of movement. Her experience at Earth & Elevate Movement Studio has been transformative, allowing her to fully embrace her love for aerial arts. Sami is excited to join the summer camp staff, as this opportunity perfectly blends her two passions: teaching children and aerial movement.
Savannah
Dance Trapeze Coach
High school woodshop instructor by day, aerialist by night, Coach Savannah has been practicing aerial arts since 2019. She currently specializes in dance trapeze, but also loves exploring lyra, straps, static trapeze, and most recently, looped chains. In 2024, she took to the stage for the first time as a member of Night Flight Aerial’s annual student showcase. Since that performance, she has found a love for creating choreography and sharing stories through movement, both on and off the stage. One of her favorite aspects of aerial circus is that it can meet you where you are, allowing for infinite creative paths to venture.
Savannah has always been on the move, whether in athletics as a student, racing on the backcountry trails in her teens and twenties, or trying her hand at more unconventional activities, like timber sports while studying at Oregon State University. In college, her interest and passion for expressive movement grew as she explored various genres of social dance, including latin, ballroom, lindy hop, and country western. In these experiences, she found an artistic outlet that her athletic history had never quite tapped. Still, she felt something was missing. Then she decided to enroll in a beginner aerial arts class for adults in late 2019, and that piece of her was found.
As an educator and coach, Savannah endeavors to empower her students to embrace challenge, develop grit, and kindle their creative expression organically in a safe, nurturing environment. Her coaching style is best described as adaptive, explorative, and holistically centered, as each individual’s journey, body mechanics, and goals are distinct.
When Savannah is not in the air or a woodshop, she is usually found traveling abroad, working in the Willamette Valley wine scene, or spending time with her cat, Freyja.
Lael
Assistant Coach/ Sub